Meta Platforms: Capex by Quarter

$130B to $145B · actual $50.9B (2 of 4 quarters)

2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, in the range of $130-145 billion, narrowed from $125-145 billion

The floor moved up 5bn while the ceiling held, which is a narrowing rather than a raise. Meta's 2026 midpoint is now roughly 1.9 times its 2025 actual.

tier-1 source

$125B to $145B · actual $50.9B (2 of 4 quarters)

raises 2026 AI spending forecast to $125 billion-$145 billion

Raised 10bn at both ends, attributed to higher component pricing and additional data center costs for future-year capacity.

tier-1 source

$115B to $135B · actual $50.9B (2 of 4 quarters)

capital expenditures related to the AI push expected in the range of $115 billion to $135 billion for 2026

Nearly double 2025 actual spend, and ahead of the roughly 111bn analysts carried.

tier-1 source

$70B to $72B · actual $72.2B (company total)

2025 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, in the range of $70-72 billion

Scored against the 72.22bn full-year figure Meta reported in January, since only the second half of 2025 is on file as quarters. It finished 220m above the top of its own range, having been narrowed up from 66-72bn a quarter earlier.

tier-1 sourcetier-1 source

Headline

$31.1B

Cash capex

n/a

Finance leases

n/a

Basis gap

n/a

A 57% sequential jump, and the quarter free cash flow became the story. The first half of 2026 covers 50.9bn of a 130-145bn guide, so the implied second half is roughly 80-94bn.

primary sourcetier-1 source

Headline

$19.8B

Cash capex

n/a

Finance leases

n/a

Basis gap

n/a

Spending fell 10% sequentially even as the full-year guide was raised by 10bn at the bottom end, which is the pattern to watch: a first quarter dip does not mean the year is coming down.

primary sourcetier-1 source

Headline

$22.1B

Cash capex

n/a

Finance leases

n/a

Basis gap

n/a

With Q3, the two quarters on file cover 41.5bn of Meta's 72.2bn 2025 total.

primary sourcetier-1 source

Headline

$19.4B

Cash capex

n/a

Finance leases

n/a

Basis gap

n/a

Capital expenditures including principal payments on finance leases, the measure Meta guides to. The quarter the stock fell more than 11% on the spending outlook rather than on results.

primary sourcetier-1 source